One thing you should never say to parents flying with children: 'Don't be that person'

When it comes to air travel, we all have our pet peeves. Whether it's dealing with cramped legroom or waiting ages to disembark, flying has its own unique set of irritations. Finder's Consumer Sentiment Tracker has revealed the top 10 behaviours that make Aussies' blood boil. As a Platinum frequent flyer with a toddler, I've been on the receiving end—and at times, the cause—of some of these annoyances. After hacking my way to Platinum status with Qantas, I’ve certainly experienced my fair share of inflight irritations. So, let’s dive into what really gets travellers riled up at 30,000 feet.

1. Screaming kids (42%)

It's no surprise this tops the list, mentioned by 42% of Aussies. A child's cries can slice through the hum of an aircraft like a hot knife through butter.

As a new parent, I sympathise with travelling families—sometimes calming an upset child in a noisy, unfamiliar environment is simply out of your control. On my last flight from Portugal to Sydney with our toddler, following our first trip to Europe to visit family, she threw a tantrum after missing her midday nap. We were the usual stressed parents in this situation, cuddling her and trying to comfort her.

Two stroppy teenagers behind us made their annoyance clear, rolling their eyes and loudly proclaiming, "If you can afford a flight to Europe, you can afford a babysitter to leave your kids in Australia." Please, don't be that person.

These days, as a frequent flyer, I never board without my essential combination of noise-cancelling headphones and earplugs, ensuring a peaceful sleep no matter how restless the little ones in the fight might be.

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2. Kicking your seat (35%)

Nothing disrupts a peaceful flight quite like the irregular thud of your seat being kicked from behind. Whether it’s a restless child or an over-energetic passenger, this drives many travellers mad (though, for me, it’s still less annoying than a screen jabber—more on that later). It's especially infuriating on long-haul flights. One way to avoid this is to book a seat at the back of the cabin, although these often come with a reduced reclining angle—so it’s a bit of a gamble.

3. Putting seat back during meal time (28%)

As if inflight meals aren't tricky enough—the moment you’re about to tuck into your lukewarm coffee and miscellaneous meat patty, the person in front decides it’s nap time and slams their seat back. Suddenly, you're left balancing your meal at a near-vertical angle. A little courtesy goes a long way, especially during meal service. If this happens and the person in front doesn’t cooperate, it's definitely time to call in the flight attendant for backup.

4. Hogging the arm rest (27%)

According to Aussie comedian Jim Jeffries, when it comes to plane etiquette: “Window gets an armrest and a wall, middle gets two armrests, aisle gets an armrest and a little bit of leg room—we’re not animals, we live in a society!” If you're stuck in the middle seat and your neighbours are hogging the armrests, a little strategic nudging might be justified.

5. Taking shoes off/stinky feet (23%)

This one is simply inexcusable. We've all had that moment when the passenger next to you decides to "get comfortable" and unleashes their smelly feet. There’s a fine line between being comfy and being inconsiderate, and bare feet in a cramped cabin crosses it. Keep your socks on, people.

Our top 10 annoyances are rounded out by:

6. Nearby passenger talking loudly (17%)

7. Body odour (16%)

8. Passenger falling asleep on you (12%)

9. Drunk fellow passengers (9%)

10. Seat swap requests (8%)

These final five behaviours might not be as high on the list, but they can still make any flight feel longer than it needs to be. Having a neighbour who talks loudly or an overly chatty passenger can ruin your attempt at peace and quiet, especially when you're trying to sleep or enjoy a movie. Body odour, on the other hand, is a silent but potent offender on any form of transport—once you're seated next to someone who skipped deodorant, there’s no escape until touchdown.

Finally, the dreaded seat swap request—usually coming just when you’ve settled in. Whether it's a friend trying to reunite with their travel buddy or someone wanting a window view, these requests can feel awkward to decline, but you're well within your rights to say no if you’ve paid for a specific seat.

My personal pet peeve: The screen jabber

While these 10 annoyances are bad, there's one behaviour that bothers me even more: the screen jabber. With entertainment screens now ubiquitous on long-haul flights, the screen jabber has become all too common.

This is the passenger behind you who doesn't quite understand how a touch screen works, opting to jab their way through the entertainment system. Each time they poke at their screen, your seat jolts—and with thousands of TV shows and movies to switch between, this can go on for the entire flight. The last time this happened to me, it was just minutes into a 14-hour journey. I politely asked the person behind to be softer, and thankfully, they were lovely and compiled. If you're guilty of this, I beg you—tap gently!

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While some inflight annoyances, like crying children, can’t always be helped, others—like smelly feet or kicking seats—are entirely avoidable. So, next time you're on a flight, let’s all try to be a little more considerate. After all, we’re all in this together.

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